Free RVU Calculator 2014

As you may know, the AMA won’t let anyone provide a free RVU calculator that includes CPT codes due to their CPT copyrights. In an abundance of caution and, because in our unhappy experience, the AMA interprets its rights (in our opinion) overly broadly, we created this tool for those of you who have a CPT license that allows for a use such as this. In theory, that should mean any practice that submits insurance claims.

To make a long story short, you can use this spreadsheet with the data that you can download from CMS to make a fairly sophisticated RVU calculator in about 5 minutes. This will allow you to fairly set your prices, analyze a payer contract, or double-check your expected payments.

What does it do? It allows you to choose your CMS-driven location, set a Medicare Multiplier, and then, on a code-by-code basis, determine your pricing level. If you then take the time to include your code volume and pricing, it will determine your practice’s FACF (i.e., how much you charge, on average, relative to Medicare). If you then provide your payment information, it will compare them to the Medicare fee schedule for you.

Head to CMS and download the 2014 RVU zip file. (This link brings you to the January 2014 release; be on the look out for newer versions.) You have to agree to the license and usage rules from CMS, of course.

Extract the PPRRVU14*.xlsx file from the zip file. Note that the actual file name will change based on version of the RVU data file you download. You are essentially looking for a file that begins with "PPRVU," has the number 14, and ends in .xlsx. BTW, I think it’s completely lame that our federal government uses a proprietary format for this data, especially one (the new .xlsx) that not everyone who even owns Excel can open. Grrrrr.

Cut and paste the entire page of data from the PPRRVU14*.xlsx file into the tab marked “PPRRVU14_V1219″ in the RVU Calculator spreadsheet. Don’t panic if it seems to freeze for a minute, it’s a lot of data.